Local fans go out of way to see NASCAR star

Hampton

March 19, 2010|By By Marty O'Brien | 247-4963

HAMPTON — Mike Reuter loves Tony Stewart so much that he arrived at 4 a.m. on Thursday in anticipation of the two-time Sprint Cup champion's 6 p.m. appearance at the NASCAR Sports Grille at the Power Plant in Hampton.

But Reuter's duties as freight supervisor at a department store in Newport News prohibited him from waiting in line to get one of the 200 coveted wristbands that would ensure he'd get to Stewart at the autograph table inside. So he left a sign.

"My sign read, 'Call me on my cell phone if you can reserve my seat at the table,'" Reuter said. "A lady called me back, and I returned at about 10:30 in the morning. It's one of the best gestures I've ever seen."

So, when Stewart arrived almost eight hours later, Reuter secured his autograph on a tiny T-shirt for his 3-year-old son.

Zachery Holland, 10, waited more than eight hours to get Stewart's signature on a flag that already bore autographs of Stewart's other crew members.

"I like that he wins a lot of races, and especially like that he kisses the bricks (after winning at Indianapolis)," Holland said. "I like that he climbs the fence after winning.

"He looks like Spider-man."

Reuter and Holland were like most of the more than 200 Stewart fans who crowded into the NASCAR Sports Grille, not to mention the hundreds waiting outside in hopes of getting in for an autograph. Many wore the red " Office Depot" colors of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas team partly owned by Stewart.

"This gives us a chance to spend time with our fans when we don't have time at the track," Stewart said. "It's nice to be able to do it here."

More online

Look for a video on Stewart at dailypress.com/sports, as well as more from Marty O'Brien.